This invention relates generally to interactive video communications and more particularly concerns viewer controlled selection of programming guide information and programming.
Programming guide information is presently displayed to the home TV viewer in non-interactive pages or scrolls of characters conveying programming guide information. Presently known in-home video guide hardware is either attached to or manufactured within a television set and produces interactive program guides that allow users, at their leisure, to peruse program information and make a viewing selection based upon information presented. However, the viewer either has to wait through a scroll of the information, view the information on a page of text, or manually navigate to the information. Unless the viewer manually navigates to event information provided or happens to view the information in a scroll or pages of text, the viewer is unaware of the current and future events that are available.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware by which a home viewer may be informed, in real-time, of events that are available currently or will in the future be available for viewing. Another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which alert a viewer to the availability of selected current or future program events. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit a viewer to access information about selected programming without changing channels. Another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit a viewer to interact with information and prompts respecting selected programming without changing channels. A further object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which ascertain whether an event is current or future. Still another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to choose whether a program will be recorded or not recorded. It is also an object of this invention to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to choose whether a program will be recorded with or without copy protection. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to view a display of the cost of the event. And it is an object of this invention to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to authorize payment for access to a selected program.
In accordance with the invention, a system interactively controlled by a TV viewer remote control transmitter displays current or future programming information superimposed over the normal programming displayed on any channel accessible to the viewer""s display screen. A tuner receives TV radio frequency or optical transmission signals in a plurality of cable channels and passes a viewer usable signal of any selected one of the channels to a signal combiner. A computer receives any of a plurality of control signals from the TV viewer remote control transmitter. It also receives from the tuner and stores data contained in a current and future programming identification signal and data contained in a current and future programming information signal. The identification signal contains data indicating the availability of the information signal. The information signal contains data descriptive of and/or facilitating interaction with current and future programming. Portions of the stored identification signal data are accessed and generated as an output identification signal by the computer for durations defined in the identification signal data either automatically at times defined in the identification signal data or in response to a selected one of the plurality of control signals from the TV viewer remote control transmitter. Portions of the stored information signal data are accessed and generated as an output information signal by the computer in response to a selected one of the plurality of control signals from the TV viewer remote control transmitter. The signal combiner superimposes the identification output signal or the information output signal over the viewer usable signal of any selected channel from the tuner to provide a display signal for input to the viewer""s display screen. The identification signal may include data defining an icon or textual matter alerting a viewer to the availability of information data or may include data enabling access to such icon or textual matter data as may be already stored elsewhere in the computer. The information signal may include program descriptive data, schedule data, pricing data and/or payment authorization and recording prompt data and the like sequenced for interactive control of the computer by the viewer and may also include data programming the interactive operation of the computer or data initiating operation of an interactive operating program resident in the computer.
In one specially preferred embodiment, the identification signal may be specially dedicated to a normal programming information channel so that the viewer can interact with respect to specific programs identified without changing from the programming information channel. Furthermore, the identification data can be incorporated in the normal programming signal so that no identification signal need be sent to or received from the computer.
Thus, the viewer is able to receive an automatic alert to availability of current and future programming and to elect to interactively exercise a variety of options with respect to such current and future programming without interruption of presently viewed programming.